Shield's Rose
by mikkiemakkie
Summary: The race is on to find SHIELDS darkest secrets and the one plan that could destroy HYDRA for good... the only complication being Hydra's new leader and his new head of security... Rated T for torture scenes (there aren't going to be many, but the Fic opens with one)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I hope you all enjoy this... it's my take on why Ward is going to be the next leader of HYDRA... It's a little different to FanFics I have previously written as this one is from their point of view... Please let me know how I do (It's my first time writing in first person narrative...)**

 **Please note this chapter has mild torture in it (hence the rating of T!)...**

* * *

The first thing I notice when I come too is that my wrists are tied together and my hands tied to a ring above my head, which hurts. A lot.

I can see someone lurking in the shadows of the room, hovering, waiting.

"Ah! I see you're finally awake!" I hear a voice cut through the cotton wool that currently makes up my brain.

"I want to know everything you know about SHIELD's rose." The voice continues.

"SHIELD's what?" I ask, my voice thick and heavy.

"You heard me. I want to know about SHIELD's rose."

"I know nothing about roses, well other than they grow on bushes, have thorns and come in a hell of a lot of different colours."

"I think you know more than that. And I'm going to enjoy making you tell me. I still owe you for those needles."

Suddenly I realise that Bobbi is the one talking to me and she steps out of the shadows.

"How can I tell you something I don't know?" I ask

I see Bobbi take a long knife out of her waistband, the blade glinting in the light of the bare bulb swinging between us. She stalks to me and presses the blade against the skin by my neck.

"A rose is a rose is a rose" I say. I feel the blade press deeper into my skin and Bobbi starts to pull is down to my chest.

"Not good enough." She says to me as I let out a hiss of pain.

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet?" I ask hesitantly.

"I didn't know you were a Shakespeare fan?" Bobbi asks me as she slices the fabric of my shirt.

"What makes you think I am, everyone knows that quote."

I feel the white hot pain slicing the skin on my abdomen.

"I want to know about SHIELD's rose. Where is it and how do we access it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I spit at her.

"You know you and I met before the whole HYDRA thing."

"We did? I'm sure I would have remembered."

I feel another swipe of white hot pain. This time across my thigh.

"I observed one of your psych evals. I was lurking in the room. Had no idea you were a sociopath."

"I'm not a sociopath, well maybe a little. Do you have a point or are you going to continue to torture me?"

I try to put more confidence in my voice than I feel. I just need to keep alive until Mya, my Head of Security can get me out of here.

"My point, Ward, is that I know something about you no one else has figured out. I watched as the evaluator put pads on the bottom of your feet. I watched as you flinched."

I close my eyes. Bobbi is right. I did flinch when they put the assessment pads on my feet. I can feel her pulling my shoes off and using the point of the knife to pull my socks down, slowly and agonisingly pulling them over my toes, then the cold, hard metal against the sole of my right foot.

"Tell me about the rose."

"I know nothing."

I feel the knife blade move and feel a moment of nothing before the pain. I don't say anything.

"Oh, you're good Ward. I know that you feel the same way about this as I do about needles, but you aren't even reacting. Maybe I need to step this up a gear."

I keep my eyes closed. Suddenly I see my worst fear. Skye being dragged through the door and being tied to the chair in front of me.

"Oh God no!" I whisper, opening my eyes.

"Yes Ward, that was Chilli powder I just put on the bottom of your feet."

"I don't know anything about a freaking rose!" I cry as my feet start burning up, making me sweat.

"Very well." Bobbi says to me and heads to the door. She opens it and Mack drags a struggling Skye into the room, forcing her into the chair in front of me and tying her to it.

"I don't know anything about a rose." I say again.

"I think you're lying to me Ward." Bobbi says, lifting a bucket of water up and placing it near Skye's head. "Here's how this works. I ask you questions. You answer them, or Skye here experiences some form of pain. The longer it takes, the more serious the pain. Do you understand?"

I stay quiet. I am pretty sure she is bluffing and won't hurt Skye, she's one of them. Why would they even think that Skye would be able to get me to talk? She shot me FOUR times in the chest.

I watch in horror as Bobbi pours a bucketful of ice water and pours it over Skye's head, making her scream and writhe against the ropes binding her to the chair.

"Just so you know Ward, I never bluff. Tell me what I want to know."

"Never." I whisper.

"Very well." Bobbi says, picking up a tazer from table at the side of the room.

She strikes Skye once, twice, three times. The water making each one hurt more than it would usually.

Still I say nothing.

I watch as Bobbi picks up a pair of scissors and takes small strands of Skye's hair between her fingers.

'Not her hair!' I think as I watch Bobbi place the strands between the blades of the scissors and press down.

I can see tears streaming down Skye's face as Bobbi butchers her hair.

"I don't know anything." I say again.

Bobbi puts the scissors down on the table and stalks towards me.

"I will give you five minutes to make your mind up on how far you want to push me." She hisses and stalks from the room.

I say nothing to Skye, just listen to her sobs.

"Are you in on this?" I eventually ask her.

"Nnnooo." She stammers.

"So why are you in here?"

"Mack hit me with something. The next thing I knew – they were dragging me in here."

Again, neither of us said anything for a couple of minutes.

"Do you know where it is? What they're looking for?"

"Yes."

We lapsed once more into silence. Skye looked around the room and noticed the strands of hair on the floor. Tears welled up in her eyes again.

"Is it dangerous?"

"In the wrong hands."

"And their hands are the wrong hands?"

"Definately."

Skye suddenly looks me straight in the eye.

"Don't tell them."

I don't answer her, but I do look at the floor. I can see Bobbi coming back in, having listened to our conversation, leaning Skye back in her chair, covering her face with a towel and pouring water over her face. I cannot let that happen.

"Promise me Ward."

"I promise."

The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

The door reopens and Bobbi and Mack come back in and right on cue, Bobbi tilts Skye back in her chair and Mack wraps a towel around her face and slowly begins to pour water onto it.

"STOP! I'll tell you everything!" I yell, fighting against my restraints, my knife wounds protesting as I move.


	2. Chapter 2

_One Year Earlier_

I'm standing in my new office, gazing out over the water, still not quite believing that HYDRA have elected me one of their new leaders.

Now I am the one issuing instructions, however I have been tasked with retrieving SHIELD's rose by any means necessary, so I have scientists and agents now working for me.

The only trouble?

I don't trust any of them and the thought that one of them could betray me at any moment unsettles me.

Out on the horizon I see a dark object emerge from the water, jump on an arc and land back in the water and I see that my options are clear.

I need to have someone working for me that I trust, and the only person I trust?

Mya.

I grab my phone and keys off the desk and head for the door.

I should really let my current head of security know I'm leaving for my own protection, but I don't want him to know that I'm about to replace him.

* * *

I arrive at Mya's house and meander my way down the drive, pulling up outside.

I half expect to be shot on sight. I haven't been here in eighteen years, but I need to know if she'll help me.

I slowly climb out of the car and make my way to the front door and knock. There's no answer.

I knock again, louder this time. It's a big house and Mya might not have heard me.

I wait a few more minutes. Still no answer so she's clearly not in.

Slowly and glancing over my shoulder as I move, I creep around the house to the back and see my new target. I make my way forwards and into the fragrant flower garden before using my knife and cutting off one of the delicate head before making my way around the pool to the back of the house and breaking in through the rear door.

The house is cool compared to the heat outside and I head for the one room I know Mya will see the flower. The kitchen.

I rummage through the drawers to find something to write on and with. Eventually I locate a sticky note and a pencil and I scrawl a note.

 _Call Me._

I stick the note to the countertop and place the flower over one of the corners of the note and leave the way I came in, securing the door behind me.

* * *

It's late and been a long day and I'm starting to feel weary as I sit at my dining table eating my sandwich and I hear a scratching at my front door.

Immediately my senses are on high alert and my weariness wanes. I reach for my gun and click a bullet into the chamber.

As I silently pad to the door, I start to wonder who could be stupid enough to break into my apartment.

I position myself behind the door, reach for the handle and take a breath.

The scratching is louder now.

I turn the handle and pull the door towards me, levelling my gun, my heart racing.

The second I see the flame haired woman in my doorway with her eyebrows raised, I lower my gun and step back to let her in.

"You were a little loud picking that lock." I told her as she brushed past me.

"I obviously don't have the luxury of you being out. I got your message."

"The message was to call Mya, not try break into my place, nearly getting shot in the process."

"I have called, just not on the phone. Now are you going to tell me what's up?"

"I'm in up to my neck and I need your help to stay afloat."

"And in something resembling English?"

"I'm now a leader at HYDRA and I have been tasked with finding SHIELD's rose. I need a head of security I can trust."

"Why me?"

"Because I need someone to watch my back without stabbing something into it."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Help me look for the rose, watch out for spies and moles in my cell and keep me alive."

"Again, why me? What makes you think I can do that?"

I knew convincing Mya to help me with words was impossible, so I lift my gun and step towards her. She lets me advance, knowing that I won't shoot her, but when I am close enough I spin my gun in my hand and try to hit her around the head with the butt of it.

She uses her forearm to block my blow and thrusts the heel of her other hand into my ribcage, knocking the wind out of me.

Mya doesn't stop there. She twists so her back is to my chest, twisting the gun out of my hand, the cold hard metal clattering to the floor in the process, before she drops to the floor and sweeping my legs out from under me.

I knew she was going to do it so it hurts less as I hit the floor, but I need to show her why I need her.

"That's why. You have the skills I need. You're smart and you can read people like a novel."

"What about my job?"

"Tell them you are doing research." I suggest, shrugging my shoulders.

Mya picks the gun off the floor, takes the bullets out and empties the chamber.

"I'm a History teacher." She says holding her hand out to me. I take it and allow her to haul me to my feet.

"Tell them you're headed to Berlin to do some fundamental research into neo-Nazis."

"Boyfriend?" she asks me, eyebrows raised.

"Same thing, although I'm not against pulling his fingernails off and telling him where to go."

"There's no need for that." She warns me.

"Yet." I growl back.

So far I haven't liked any of Mya's boyfriends and I've managed to get rid of them. They always seem to lead to trouble. I'm pretty sure Mya suspects I have something to do with it, but she has no proof and hasn't seen me in years to accuse me of it.


	3. Chapter 3

_Skyes POV_

I'm sat in a briefing. I vaguely recognise that Hunter is talking, but all I can think about is getting out of here and making a sandwich. Mainly so that I have something to do and also to stop my stomach growling at me and performing somersaults.

I consider faking a toilet break – after all this meeting has gone on far too long – but then I hear those words that I will remember, probably for the rest of my life.

"Ward has been elected a Hydra leader." I hear Hunter tell Coulson.

I snap my head up faster that I thought I could, putting my hand on my neck as I feel the muscle pull so badly it feels like it's about to tear and then it stats to heat up.

"You have got to be kidding me." May drawled. I chance a look at her and she looks less than impressed.

"It's almost like they have no standards." Fitz whispers. Loudly.

This makes everyone in the room laugh, except for me. My mind is still reeling from the news that my one time, could have been boyfriend, is now officially my worst enemy. I guess he's been promoted in more ways than one. And then the blow that hurt the most.

"And his new head of security is beyond HOT!"

"Wait, Ward's head of security is a girl?" Fitz asked.

I could see the shock in his face. I let out an involuntary laugh as May and Bobbi both stand up straighter with their arms folded across their chests and turned to face him.

I could see Fitz falter. I mean, it's not like women are incapable of being head's of security. Hunter was completely oblivious to Fitz's discomfort.

"Yeah. She's maybe five seven, five eight at a push and before you ask Bob that was wearing flats. She slim, but an athletic slim not an anorexic slim and her hair. Oh my God her hair. Usually I'm not a fan of redheads, but she was like." Hunter told us, emiting a sigh to demonstrate how well this girl rocked her red hair.

My stomach's churning so badly now and I feel sick so I start to breath in through my nose and out through my mouth, slowly, deeply and hoping no one would see me.

I'm glad Fitz asked though. It would have been humiliating it this redhead was a guy. That would mean I used to major crush on...

... I'm not even going to go there.

"I thought we knew all of Hydra's major players? Where has this girl come from?" May asked.

"Thank you May. I was just about to ask that."

"It seems she's new. I did recognise her though. Don't ask me how."

"Well let's deal with the most imminent problem. What's Ward up to?"

"At the moment it's looking like he's doing assassinations for the other leaders while recruiting for his very own Hydra cell."

"We need to know more on what he's planning and we need to stay one step ahead. He knows us all intimately, granted some better than others,"

My cheeks flush as Coulson reminds me of what happened between us. I look at May and she looks as angry as I should feel. I wonder why I don't feel angry. Maybe angry will come later.

"but still, with Ward calling Hydra's shots we need to stick together and stay safe. He could take us all down at any given point."

We are all dismissed by Coulson and I know I should go and eat. That's what my stomach has been telling me for the last two and a half hours. But I don't.

I head for the gym. I step inside and I am overwhelmed by the stench of stale sweat. We really should get a cleaning rota up in here. I pick up my straps. They're right pink, but only because I know no one else will use them and make them all sweaty and leave them mushed up in a wet ball for me to gross out putting them on.

I tighten the straps a little tighter than usual. I want to make sure that my emotions and responses are working alright. I know my blood should be boiling over Ward, especially seen as though he claimed to love me at one point and has since moved on. _Twice_. But it's not. I think I expected something like this, maybe not this soon, but betrayal is his middle name. Actually, I know its Douglas. Named after his mom's dad. Yep. I poured over his file trying to find a weakness.

So far?

 _Zip. Zilch, Nada._

I weave through the various dummies and equipment over to the punch bag and I start to let my fists fly. I hear the door open behind me, but I am in no mood to talk. Just punch.

My fist hits the torn seam of the punch bag and I feel heat in my knuckles, but I still don't stop. Not until I feel someone catch my hand and pull it towards them.

"You know when you get to the blood stage of punching it's time to stop." Simmons tells me.

"It's not that bad."

"Look, Daisy. It's totally weird calling you that. Can't I just keep calling you Skye?"

"No. I need to get used to my real name."

"I know you're angry, but hitting out your feelings isn't going to help anyone. Especially not you."

"You have no idea how I'm feeling."

Of course she doesn't. He hurt me in one of the worst ways imaginable. I can't let anyone in anymore because I'm scared I'm going to get hurt, or worse.

"Of course I do because we are all feeling it. He tossed me and Fitz out of a plane in a box remember! Please stop punching so I can tell you the plan."

"What's the plan?" I concede.

"Coulson's sending someone in under cover." She tell me as she starts to unwind the straps from my hands.

"As long as it's not under Ward's covers." I say before I can tell my mouth to stop.

* * *

 **A/N: No I haven't forgotten about any of you... I just had a lot on at work (working almost 12 hours a day for a number of weeks straight isn't conducive to writing - my brain fried and my imagination along with it... now I'm back and will try to update as much as I can!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Skyes POV_

"Ok. So you have an advantage. Ward doesn't know you and won't immediately associate you with SHIELD." I say to the petite blonde sat across from me.

"I know how to handle men." She tells me, pulling some fluff out of the stray strand of hair across her face.

"Not this one you don't. He has no moral compass. He can and will shoot you at the slightest hint of betrayal and if he doesn't he is very handy with brainwashing."

"Really?"

"Really. He's going to be suspicious of you from the start so you'll need to win him over. You know, make a few missions a success before sabotaging them."

"So what is it you're trying to say?"

I swear this girl is thick. I want to scream in exasperation. Instead I take a deep breath.

"I am not _trying_ to say anything. What I am saying is this: Grant Ward is a psychotic lunatic. He is _always_ two moves ahead. You are being sent in to level the playing field. Just remember the aim is to gather intel, _not_ get close to him. Just because he's a leader of Hydra and has a head of security doesn't mean he can't fight, it is the opposite. I only know May won their fight because she nailed his foot to a floor."

"She nailed his foot to a floor? That had to hurt!"

"Don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

"Don't feel any form of sympathy for him. He deserves everything he gets."

"That's a little harsh."

"Forget this. I'll gather the intel myself."

"Daisy. I can do this."

"No, you can't. He stabbed us all in the back, nearly killed Fitz and Simmons by tossing them out of a plane and he DID kill his family because he blames them for the way he is. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain by beating us." I scream at her.

I don't know why, but I want to smile at her shocked face.

She clears her throat and opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. Once, twice.

"He is also a very talented manipulator, so don't spend too much time with him. He might turn you."

"He won't turn me."

"Are you not listening to a word I am saying? This is what he does best. He managed to con May. You know May. The human lie detector? He also managed to con Coulson, not to mention Fury and Maria Hill."

The blonde sat still simply staring at me.

"Why are you telling me all of this? Why isn't May or Coulson?"

"Because out of all of us, I was the one who managed to get close enough to Ward to find some form of truth."

Is it lying if I leave something out?

"Why you?"

I want to smack this girl. She is so dense. I look behind her and I can see the pen pot on the side begin to shake.

I feel like I am about to lose control, so I take some deep and calming breaths, just like my mother taught me. The pen pot stops shaking, but not before the glass of water next to it shatters into a million pieces.

"You don't think I can do this do you?"

It was so quiet I almost missed it.

"It's not personal. I just don't think putting someone in with Ward is a good idea. If you get caught, you will die, or worse. He can turn you and you wouldn't even realise it."

"I'm not dumb. I've done this before."

"Gone UC into an organisation hell bent on ending the world with a guy lacking in social skills but still managing to adapt and convince people to trust him."

"Well, no, but I have gone in deep cover multiple times."

"Ever been compromised?"

"No. Not even close."

"What's your way in?"

"I have a contact who can get me the necessary credentials."

"You can't just walk in through the front door."

"My files have been amended to show that I have transferred from another cell."

"Ward can spot a fake ID from a mile away. The unknown here is his unpredictability and also his head of security. We know nothing about her. So mission is to also find out what you can about her as well as what they're up to."

"I know this."

"Go talk to Coulson. You'll need to go through contacting SHIELD. It's not like you'll be able to just pick up a phone and Ward knows all our tricks. Hell, most of them we learned from him."

* * *

 **A/N: Please stick with me! what the Rose is will be revealed in the next chapter...**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I am severely disappointed with the direction that the show has taken - to a point I have refused to watch any of season 3 and probably won't be watching any more! To me for a series to succeed it must revolve around something continually (even if it's in the background - Shield's example was Ward/May/Skye in season 1) with only one focus during the season. I feel Marvel have ruined the show by focussing on to many things at once and decimation of characters... Ward, Skye and more recently Coulson - who stooped to cold blooded murder of Ward.**

 **I am going to finish my fanfics that are in the works, but none of my future ones will have any basis in the show.**

 **Now I have that off my chest - it's time to find out what's so special about Shield's Rose**

* * *

 _Skye's POV_

"I want everyone in the briefing room in five minutes."

Coulson's voice reverberates around my skull, magnified by the ancient tannoy system we're using. It's not a pleasant sound to wake up to.

I pull the covers closer to me and I bury further into my bed, screwing my eyes up and hoping I could make time stop so I can stay comfy, warm and safe.

Except, I pull the covers up too far and expose my toes to the chilly air.

Knowing my delusions of security were over, I throw caution to the wind and hurl the covers away from me. Bracing myself I sit upright and glance at the clock.

 _5.45am_

Eurgh! Even training with May I don't get up this early.

I throw on some clothes that I find on my floor, not caring if they are clean or dirty or whether they go together, and I head towards the briefing room.

I reach the door the same time as Bobbi and Hunter. By the looks of her hair, they were making up when the call came out.

"Morning." I grumble and I pass through the door, holding it for them and waiting as they do the whole 'you go first – no you go first routine' until my arm aches.

I hear water gurgling behind me and a slight drip, drip of fluid dropping into more fluid. The smell suggests that Coulson realised that he'd woken us all up and he's making it up to us by making coffee.

My nose leads my feet to the coffee pot and I let go of the door.

"Oof!" I hear Hunter mutter as the door hits him in the face. I can also hear Bobbi laughing at him. I don't care.

 _I need coffee_.

I manage to pour myself a cup without spilling any in my sleep induced state and I walk over to the conference table. I sit at one of the chairs and take a sip of coffee. It tastes good. Hot, full of flavour and bitter. My heart sinks.

For Coulson to wake us all up and provide us with the good coffee, something must be very, very wrong.

I watch as everyone filters into the briefing room, pours a cup of coffee and takes a seat. Once they take a sip I watch as their faces come to the same realisation I have.

Coulson is the last to arrive and his expression is sombre.

"Alright! Settle down!" he commands.

All conversations stop and we turn to look at him.

"We have a problem." He explains.

"No? Really? We kinda all knew that already!"

I can't stop the words coming out of my mouth. It's like verbal diarrhoea. The fact that my voice is dripping with sarcasm doesn't help matters.

Coulson stares at me like he caught me placing a wire tap in his office.

"It's the coffee." I offer in way of explanation.

"Right. Anyway. Our UC with Ward has made contact and we now know what Ward's mission is."

I'm surprised. I didn't expect our UC to come through so quick and that makes me nervous. Ward is more careful than that.

"What is it?"

"Hydra has tasked Ward with finding Shield's Rose."

Bobbi spits coffee all over the table, dots of brown soaking into the paperwork that still littered the table from the last briefing.

"No one has ever found Shield's Rose. It's a legend. A myth." She coughed out.

"Apparently Hydra don't think so."

"What _is_ Shield's Rose?" Fitz asks, voicing the question that was running through my mind, and from the look of confusion on everyone else's faces it wasn't just my mind that it was running through.

"Shield's Rose, also known as Peggy's Rose is a series of plans that are designed to take out Hydra for good."

"Why has no one used them?" I ask. Once it's out of my mouth, I realise it's a stupid question.

"Because no one's found them."

"Why would someone hide something like that? I mean, if there's the power to wipe out Hydra, why not use it."

"From what I've heard about the plans, they're flawed." Coulson explains.

Another question pops into the front of my mind.

"Why do Hydra want them?"

"Two reasons. To stop us finding the Rose and using it against them and to use the Rose against us."

"So you got us up at ass o'clock to tell us this?"

My attitude will get me in serious trouble some day.

"No Daisy, I got you up at ass o'clock to inform you all we're going on a trip. It turns out Ward may have located the first piece to uncover the puzzle that is the trail to the Rose."

"What is it?"

"I don't know what, but I do know where. The first piece of the puzzle is located at the Kremlin. If we can throw a spanner in Ward's plan, we might be able to beat him to it."

"How can we beat him to something when we don't even know what it is?" Fitz asks.

I want to laugh. It turns out I'm not the only one who asks stupid questions.

Coulson chuckles and surveys Fitz before answering.

"By watching him and waiting for him to take something, before creating a diversion and taking it from him."

I feel the trickle of excitement pass through me, quickly being replaced by apprehension. The way Coulson say it makes it sound easy, but if Ward's involved, it's going to be anything but easy.

"Why's it also called Peggy's Rose?" Simmons asks.

"Because the plan was devised by none other than Peggy Carter."

Coulson gives us an outline of what our plan is, but seen as though we don't have details of Ward's plan, it's kind of hard to counter it.

When Coulson finally dismisses us, I trudge back to my room, grab my towel, shampoo and body wash and head out for a shower. I know that I'm going to be getting sweaty again today, but I need to shower to wake my body up.

I turn the water on and heat it up to the temperature I think it needs to be and I drop my towel on the hook outside of the cubicle. I stick my hand into the shower to check the temperature and pull it straight back out.

I scream as the scalding water hits my skin and turn the temperature down a couple of degrees.

A few minutes later I remove the clothes I put on this morning and step into the torrent of water.

I let it flow over my skin and wet my hair so it sticks to my face. Once I feel my body begin to wake up I reach for my shampoo and squirt a little into my palm, the scent of Lavender drifting up into my nostrils.

I laugh as I realise that I should really change it, although I like the way it smells. Because I can feel the tension in the tight muscles of my head start to melt away as I rub it in with my fingers.

I stick my head back under the water and rinse out the suds. When they are gone, I repeat the process with the body wash over my entire body.

Once I feel clean and somewhat awake, I turn the shower off and I reach for my towel. I pat it over my skin, absorbing all of the water from it.

I quickly realise that I've left my suit in my room, so I'm going to have walk back to my room with nothing but a towel on. I hope to God I don't meet Hunter and his epic sense of inappropriate comments.

Luckily, I meet no one.

I get back to my room and locate my suit. It's the last place I look, or would even think to keep it.

My closet.

My suit is new and totally awesome. It fits me everywhere it should and adapts to everything I can think to put it through. There's also these gloves to protect my hands. I think Coulson told me they were bullet proof, but I really don't want to find out if that's true.

I unzip it and slide it off the hanger letting the soft leather run through my hands. I gather the leg so that I can slip it on over my foot and pull it up and over my calf to my knee. I don't manage to get it that far.

There appears to be some moisture left on my body from the shower and the leather sticks. Badly.

I yank the leg, hoping to move it an inch, but it doesn't give and I lose my balance, face planting the floor.

I'm still struggling ten minutes later when my bedroom door opens and Bobbi is stood there.

She laughs at me writhing around on the floor before leaving. She comes back minutes later with a small bottle.

"Try using this. Sprinkle it over your body and the suit'll just glide on." She tells me, handing me the bottle.

I turn it in my hand and realise it's talc. I'd seen it on Bobbi's dresser, but never wanted to ask what she used it for. I always figured it had something to do with her making up with Hunter.

Bobbi helps pull the fabric off my leg and she leaves me in peace as I smother my body in the fine powder. My skin is pasty white, but I don't care if it means I can get dressed for the mission.

I pat my hands free of dust and sit on the floor, just in case this doesn't work. I pull on leg over my foot and up to my knee and then repeat the process with the other one. Once both feet are in the suit I stand to pull the rest of it up my legs and slide my arms into the sleeves. I am surprised at how well the powder has worked and before I know it I am zipping up the front and ferreting through my closet to find my boots and gloves.

Once I am fully dressed I fasten my new weapons belt around my waist and head to the hanger where there is a jet waiting to take us to Russia. This is why we had to be up before dawn.


	6. Chapter 6

_Ward's POV_

I hope this plan works.

I'm walking up the front steps to the Kremlin's front door. I know it's a stupid idea when the whole world wants me dead, but it was the only idea we had.

Mya had placed a fake nose and chin to alter my appearance and assured me that even if the cameras scan biometrics, these prosthetics could not be detected and would register as real.

Even so, the closer I get to the door, the more nervous I become. Eventually I reach the metal detector and hand over my ID. It's one that Mya stole off an unconscious soldier. I can feel her next to me and breathe a sigh of relief. At least I'm not doing this alone.

I watch as she hands her own falsified military ID to the guard.

We both empty our pockets into the trays provided and walk through the detectors. I remember to breathe again when I get to the other side and they remain quiet.

I wait for Mya to catch up to me. We walk down the corridors of the famous building and locate the stairs. It would be quicker to take the elevator, but it doesn't go as far as we need it to. We both hit the stairs, our paces quick, but not quick enough to attract attention.

"Can I take this stuff off now? It's starting to itch." I ask, rubbing at my chin.

"Not yet. There's two more cameras in this stairwell." She tells me, smacking my hand away.

We continue to descend past the basement and first sub-basement and find ourselves facing tight security measures. I manage to put everything Skye has ever taught me to good use and open the lock. I let Mya slip inside first and, glancing over my shoulder, I follow.

Our pace quickens as we make our way down the corridor, scanning the numbers on the rooms as we do. Mya stops in front of me and I run into the back of her, almost knocking the air out of my lungs as I catch her elbow.

"That's the one." She whispers, pointing at a door three doors down from where we are.

It's vault 615 and I can't help but smile at the simplicity of it. Of course it would be located in vault 6.15 – Peggy Carter's birthday.

We race to the door and I try and get through the door. It's harder than the last one, even though it's the same type of lock as I've just got us through.

"We're being hacked." I tell Mya, who slips the pieces of her gun out of her military issue suit and quickly puts it together.

Suddenly the lock gives and the door opens, which is when the shots start. They ping off the walls and floor around us. I look at Mya who has taken a stance half in, half out of the door. She covers me entering the room. I see the lock take a bullet and start to smoke.

I'm clear in the room and I turn to face Mya. I grip the back of her jacket in one hand and the door in the other. As I pull her backwards, I slam the door, knowing without a lock it will take whoever's shooting at us some time to get in.

The room is pitch black so I crack a glowstick and inhale in surprise. I thought there would be one or two paintings in here, but there are closer to one hundred. I hear Mya crack another glowstick behind me and we start our search. I really couldn't care less about these paintings, but I know Mya will kill me if she sees me handling them with less than kid gloves, so I'm careful as I search for the painting that we need.

"It's here!" She whispers.

I can hear the awe in her voice and I turn to see it.

I am taken aback. I'm not usually a fan of paintings, but before me is a true work of art.

'Roses' by Henri Fantin – Latour is in front of me. Huge, meticulous and well framed, but unfortunately there is only one way out of here, and I am never going to be forgiven in the art world for what I'm about to do.

I pull a ceramic flick knife out of my pocket and approach the painting. I carefully cut the masterpiece from its frame and roll it up as Mya hunts for the air vent grate.


	7. Chapter 7

_Skye's POV_

I'm hidden in the shadows and I can feel my heart beating a tattoo against my ribs.

'It's the adrenalin' I keep telling myself.

There are five secure vault floors in the sublevels of the Kremlin and we aren't sure which floor Ward is going to hit, so we are waiting on all of them. Unfortunately I am stuck with Hunter being his usual annoying self.

It isn't long before we hear a beeping from the door of the vault. I grab Hunter and drag him further into the shadows.

"What? We can take them out as they come through the door!" he hisses at me.

"And get blown to pieces ourselves."

"It'd be worth it."

"Sure it would"

I see Hunters face harden into a straight line at my sarcasm, making a twinge of guilt ripple through my stomach.

"We know Hydra are after the Rose, therefore we need to see what Ward is after in order to get it first."

"Oh, yeah, the mission, yet again is keep Ward alive long enough to escape."

I notice the beeps have stopped and hear the faint creak of the door as it opens.

"Damn, he got through that lock faster than I thought he would."

"Looks like he learned off you too." Hunter whispers in my ear.

That's when I realise I had said my thought out loud. I really must put a filter on my mouth.

I can hear footsteps coming down the hallway. I can hear Wards, quick, confident and strong, but I can also hear another set of footprints, lighter and smoother.

They are coming closer and closer to the hidey hole where Hunter and I are. They get closer and I hold my breath. I know that it won't do much good. If they find me then they find me. They are now so close that I can make out the shapes of Ward and his new head of security.

I really don't like her, but she is totally his type. Tall for a woman, but not too tall to look stupid stood next to Ward. She's slender, yet well defined and moves with a graceful ease that I could never pull off in my dizziest daydreams.

I see them stop. Mya in front and Ward walking into her elbow. I can hear the air escaping his lungs.

"That one!" Mya whispers. Her voice is a lot huskier than I thought it would be, but for some reason it definitely suits her.

I see Ward put his hand on the small of her back and guide her to the door. Door 615.

I watch as he pulls out a small electronic device that Fitz designed to open magnetic locks. It was only a prototype and as such it needed some of my hacker magic to make it work. Clearly Ward knew this and paid attention every time I used it.

This time though, I have a trick up my sleeve. Quite literally. I edge the small handheld remote out of my sleeve and press a button. I know it's working because within seconds I can hear Ward telling the girl they were being hacked.

A gunshot from behind me makes me jump.

Hunter has decided that the mission has been accomplished and it's time for Ward to die.

I watch as the girl pulls out her own gun, aims it in Hunter's direction and fires. I can see she is well trained in handling weapons. I can see that her bullets have Hunter pinned into an alcove so I drop the remote and pull my own gun. Before I have the chance to fire it, Ward has the door open and has stepped over the threshold. He turn, places one hand on the back of her neck and slams the door shut at the same time as pulling her into the room.

"Damn! What did you have to shoot at them for?" I scream at Hunter, running for the door.

Surely Ward must know I could get through it in seconds.

That's when I noticed one of Hunters bullets has destroyed the lock.

I pull my cell out of my pocket and dial the number I have for Fitz.

"I need to rewire an electromagnetic lock that has a bullet in it."

I don't even give him chance to say hello. I spend the next five minutes rewiring the lock under Fitz's careful instruction. Once I have it open, I carefully step into the room, my gun raised and Hunter on my heels.

There is a huge empty frame propped up against the wall opposite the door with a small blood stain in front of it. The rest of the room remains untouched and completely empty of people.

My blood boils. I can't believe we had the bastard penned in and he STILL got away.

I hear alarms start to resonate around me and I look at Hunter in horror. My rage has set off all of the tremor sensors. I really need to get a handle on my gift, but for now I grab Hunters hand and run out of the door and back out of the Kremlin into glorious Russian sunshine.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I have not abandoned this - Life just got a little hectic and I haven't had chance to think about any of my fics except my rookie blue one. I am still boycotting the show but I want to finish this fic and the third instalment of Release the Hounds (When I have finished the second one) as well as Agent in Training.**

* * *

 _Ward's POV_

I am stood pacing in front of the window of my office, putting pressure on the wound I have just managed to reopen, staring out over the sea, kicking myself for how things went down in Russia. How had Shield found us? How had they found out about the Rose?

There's a soft knock on my door but I ignore it and stop to stare out of the window. I can hear the door open and a few seconds later I can hear the catch of it closing, but I still ignore it. Mya pads to my side and just stands there. She's trying to get me to speak first, but I know all of her little tricks and I am not the first to cave.

"So that was the famous Skye I've heard so much about?"

"Mhm."

"She's pretty."

"Mhm."

I just want Mya to stop talking. I don't want all of this back in my head. It took me long enough to bury it.

"You don't want to talk about it do you?"

"No, Mya. It's ancient History."

"Ancient History is meant to be that. Ancient. It's not supposed to keep reminding you of it everywhere you go."

"Can we please not do this Mya?"

"Sure, but you know it's the elephant in the room."

"How about we talk about the reason why we're here?"

I can tell I am about to snap at her, but I manage to reign in my temper. It has been years since I have lost it and I don't plan on breaking that streak.

"Why are we here staring out of the window over the iridescent ocean?"

I turn to face Mya and she raises her eyebrows at me.

"I think we have a mole."

"What makes you think that?"

"How else would Shield know we are looking for the rose? How would they know where we were?"

"I know we have a mole. I think I know who it is and I may have told them all about our little jaunt to the Kremlin."

I stand looking at her, my jaw practically hitting the floor as she walks around my office, picking up various items and inspecting them before putting them back into place. I finally find my voice.

"You did what?"

I try and keep my voice as even and calm as I can, but I can feel my temper flaring up again.

Mya puts down the empty picture frame and turns to face me, he arms crossing her chest.

"You wanted my help didn't you?"

"And you help me by telling Shield all of our plans?"

"Not all of them, just enough to confirm we have a mole in our ranks."

"And you know who it is?"

"I have narrowed it down to three."

I am shocked. I have over 100 staff members and Mya has narrowed it down to three?

"Go on." I prompt her.

"It is your former head of security, his reasoning quite obvious."

"I doubt it."

"I don't. He is definitely planning something. I saw the way he looked at you as we left. He seriously did not expect to see you again."

"He might not believe you can take care of me."

"He also told me I would regret my choice to say yes to you."

"Who else?"

"There is that guy that looks like he's about 10 down in tech."

I look at her sceptically. I know I brought her onto the team because of her combat skills and that she can read people like books. I am starting to worry that she has lost her touch.

"Why?"

"I walked past earlier and he stuffed something in his drawer. Clearly he didn't want me to see."

"And the third?"

"That new scientist."

Now that one I can believe.

"So how do we do this?"

I know the ways to deal with disloyalty in an organisation. None of them are pretty. I am letting Mya take the lead – she is rather creative.

"I will go snooping in the tech guys desk. Then we haul them all in here and I will question them."

"And I will be?"

"Behind the one way mirror above the bookcase over there."

I look at the mirror and back at Mya.

"How did you know?"

"Just did."

"You do know questioning these people won't be easy right?"

"I have my methods."

"Really?"

"Sure. So tell me, do you prefer Coke or Pepsi?"

"I'm not playing games Mya."

"I wasn't playing games. I was going to go get a drink."

"What do you want to do when we find the mole?"

"Convert them to our way of thinking."

"I like the sound of that."

Mya takes the hand that I have been putting pressure on the entire time we have been talking. The bleeding has slowed down, but it hasn't stopped fully. She drops my hand and walks over to the side for a bottle of water, returning moments later and pouring it into her hand and allowing it to run over the wound. It stings, but not badly and eventually the water cleans the blood away, leaving a small thin line of red.

"So when do you want to torture your staff members?" she asks me with a grin.

One of the lab techs knocks on the door to my office and she gets up to answer the door. I watch as Mya takes the folder off the tech and hands it to me. I quickly scan through the folder.

"Tomorrow. The results of the doodles on the back of the painting are back. It turns out it is DNA, but they don't know what to."

"It's not on file?" Mya asks, her interest spiking.

"Nope!"

"This is going to be fun!"


	9. Chapter 9

_Skye's POV_

"So you are telling me Ward, yet again, got away, taking with him the first piece of the Rose?" Coulson asks me and Hunter. I expected him to yell and his calm voice is starting to unnerve me.

"That's right." Hunter admits after glancing at me. I give him my best icy stare. It's his fault we're in this mess.

"And how _exactly_ did he do that?"

I tune out and replay what happened while also trying to decide how Ward knew the redhead. They worked too well to have just met and they seemed to touch each other more often than is necessary. I can still hear that husky voice and his breath as she elbowed him, not to mention the whip of flame red hair disappearing into the vault behind Ward as he slammed the door closed on us. I have to admit, the girl is good.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SHOOT AT THEM!"

Coulson's shout brings me back to reality. And reality sucks. I shake my head to try and focus my attention on the problem we now face.

"It was instinct. He's a Hydra leader." Hunter admitted.

"And your instinct means Ward now has the first clue to finding the Rose!"

I glance at Hunter and he's sat next me with his eyes cast down. I feel no pity that he is taking the brunt of this ass whooping. He was the one who caused it!

"Do you have any idea what he took?"

"The vault was full of paintings. There's no way of knowing what was in there without an inventory."

"I could try and hack the system, but without knowing what is _still_ there we could spend days trying to figure it out." I say.

It's been a while since I hacked something, but keeping me busy will stop my mind wondering to Ward's distracting security personnel.

"It's a starting point."

"We also got a sample of blood from the scene. Simmons is running it in the Lab as we speak."

"Excellent."

I can hear a soft knocking at the door and Coulson gets up to answer it. I don't look, but I can hear Simmons mutter something and can see her, in the reflected glass, hand a folder to Coulson. He shakes his head and closes the door.

"The blood is not going to tell us anything. It's Wards."

"Ward got shot?" Hunter asks with a slight smirk on his face.

I look between Hunter and Coulson and replay running into that room.

"No, I don't think so." I say before my brain catches up to my mouth.

They both turn to look at me like I have lost my mind.

"Why else would Ward's blood be on the floor?"

"I think he cut himself. There wasn't a blood trail when we entered that room. Plus there was an empty frame next to the blood. What if Ward took whatever was in that frame?" I suggest, trying to remember what the frame looked like.

"Then I suggest we get going. We have a lot to do if we are going to stop Ward getting the second piece of that puzzle." Coulson states.

Hunter gets up and I make to follow. It's obvious Coulson has just ended the meeting.

"Daisy, a moment." he says behind me.

I huff that I am being kept back and fling myself back into the chair. I just need o go and do something to keep busy and I have a feeling Coulson is going to ask me about _her._

He doesn't disappoint.

"What do you think to Ward's mystery head of security?" he asks me.

"She's good. Held me and Hunter off Ward while he broke into the Vault. Found an alternate route out and from what I saw, she takes her job of protecting him seriously, but he's also protective of her."

"Where did you get that from?"

"He pulled her into the room and closed the door on us. They clearly know each other and well too."

Coulson raises his eyebrows at me. I think I may have said too much about the thoughts running around in my head. Why can't I apply a filter to my mouth?

"It's the way they are with each other, and Ward would want someone he trusts watching his back. Just because he's a leader, doesn't mean he trusts Hydra and it doesn't mean they fully trust him. He played both sides remember." I explain.

"Did you get a good look at her?"

"Yeah. Just as Hunter described. Except he didn't mention her 10 pack a day habit."

"Her what?"

"Her voice is husky."

I watch as Coulson's face drops from curiosity to a deep frown.

"What?" I ask quickly, nervous as he starts scrolling down his phone or something.

He stops scrolling and shows me a picture of a redheaded woman I have never met, but know a lot about.

"Her?" he asks me hesitantly.

"No. I would have told you if Ward's head of security was Natasha Romanov." I tell him with a smile.

"Before you start this hack to find out what was taken, go see Fitz and create a composite of this woman. I want her name."

"Why didn't you ask Hunter?"

"Because I want a reliable likeness."

He nods at the door and I take my queue to leave. As soon as I am out of the door, I lean against the wall and breathe to steel myself for the last thing I want to do today. I don't know how much time passes, but I get up and go find Fitz.

I find him in the first place I look: The Lab.

"Daisy! Coulson tells me we're about to find out who this redhead is!"

"Yeah. Can we just get this done?"


	10. Chapter 10

_Skye's POV_

"Are we nearly done?" I moan at Fitz. I want to start this hack.

"Nearly. Now back to eye colour?"

"I didn't get close enough to find out, besides it was fairly dim in that corridor."

"With a redhead I would go blue or green!" Simmons shouts from across the room.

Fitz taps the keys and I am looking at a digital image of Ward's _friend_ on the screen. There is something about her I cannot shake, but I understand what Hunter meant when he said he recognised her. The more I look at her, the more familiar she becomes.

"I'm going to run it by our database. If she's in this life then we'll find her!"

"What if she's new to it?" I ask. I know it's a stupid question, but I can't help it.

"Then we run her by the DMV." Fitz explains, tapping more keys and initiating the search. I cross the Lab to where I keep my laptop and before I sit down, Fitz's computer makes a sound like an alarm.

"That was quick." he exclaims.

I run to back to him to find that the file we need is locked with the highest security clearance.

"Try Domino" I tell Fitz.

He types it in quickly and the screen changes. It now says that it is deleting the file.

"What did you do?" Fitz screams at me as I try and stop the file from being deleted.

"It was Coulson's password. He has a level 10 security clearance. It should have unlocked. How was I supposed to know it was rigged with a virus!" I snap back, frantically hitting the keys. I can see that I am running out of time.

85%

90%

95%

99%

*file deleted*

"DAMN IT!" I shout, hitting the keyboard in frustration.

"Plan 'B' it is." Fitz says, returning to the search and running the composite through the DMV. If she has a license we'll know who she is soon enough.

I traipse back to my laptop and sit on the stool in front of it.

The first thing I do is create a back up of my hard drive. The next thing I do is look for a way into the Kremlins system.

It takes me 45 minutes to hack my way into the system without leaving a trace and another half hour of scrolling and searching and I have come up with...

... absolutely nothing.

I feel like I need to go and pound on the punchbag some more and as I get up to take a break, I'm hit with a realisation. The paintings were in hidden secure vaults in the sub basement. What if the files were hidden too.

With a fresh burst of adrenaline, I start tapping away at the keyboard, engrossed in what I am good at and not realising everyone had left. I manage to locate the files and groan as I see over a thousand vaults listed and can't remember the number of the vault Ward hit.

I can feel the tension in my neck and move it from side to side to make it click. I doubt Hunter will be able to help me with the vault number, but I have to ask.

As I get up to go and find him, Fitz's computer pings again. There is a result from the DMV and the face of Mya Delaney looks out at me.

"Got you." I whisper. I hit print and put the resulting pages into a folder. I read them as I look for Hunter and come to one conclusion: Mya Delaney is not her real name. There is no way a history teacher has a skill set like that and gets mixed up with new age Nazis.

I walk into Coulson before I find Hunter and give him the file and a brief outline of what we have found so far.

He flicks open the folder and I see the colour drain from his face.

"Coulson?" I ask as delicately as I can. He looks like he's about to pass out.

"You were right. Mya Delaney is not her real name. Her real name is Mya Carter."

"And that's a problem because?" I prompt him.

"Mya Carter is Peggy Carter's only Grandchild. She was taught to defend herself from a young age to protect her from people looking for Peggy."

"Still missing the problem."

"Peggy's Rose ring any bells?"

I feel like I have run into a brick wall at full speed. I feel stupid for not making the connection.

"Ward's using Mya to find Peggy's Rose. How on earth did he get her on his side?" I state. I am still reeling from Mya's identity.

"Brainwashing? Charm? You yourself know how charming he _can_ be when he wants to be."

I give Coulson my best glare at his comments. I do not want to be reminded of how much of a fool I was.

"We should keep this between us for now, until we know how he got her on side at least." Coulson orders me, closing the file.

"Agreed. She stays as Mya Delany for now."

We looked at each other, the unspoken questions in the air. We both know Ward is capable of brainwashing people. I have a gut feeling he talked her into this rather than brainwashing her. She seemed to be too independent to be brainwashed.

* * *

I sit back at my laptop, having found Hunter and discovered he had no idea what Vault is was other than one in the 600 range, prepared for a long slog.

The news about who Mya is still pulses through my veins, so instead of slogging through the contents of 100 vaults, I open begin a new hack. This time into the people I work for. I know Peggy's file will be locked with the highest security clearances.

It doesn't take me long to find and I use Coulsons password to unlock it and hold my breath as it works.

I scan the huge file with greedy eyes looking for information that will help me locate what vault they were in so I can begin to narrow down what they took.

I see nothing, so I scroll back to the top, noticing as I do Peggy's Birthday.

15th June.

Smiling, I return to my previous search and look through the contents of vault 6.15. There is nothing that stands out to me as being worthy to steal.

I have to start thinking outside the box but my thoughts keep coming back to Mya.

Mya Carter.

Peggy Carter's Granddaughter.

Ward has made contact because Mya has inside information on Shield's Rose.

That's when I realise I am staring at the word 'Rose' on the screen. One of the paintings in the vault is of roses.

I've done it!

"I am a genius!" I say to myself out loud while doing a victory dance. Fortunately there is no one here to see me dance because I know I suck at it!

"Meeting Room. Five minutes." Coulson's voice tells us over the intercom system.

Now that I know who we are dealing with and what they stole, I head for the meeting in slightly better spirits than I was in this morning.

* * *

Five minutes later we are all sat in the now cleaned out meeting room, waiting for Coulson to arrive. There is no coffee, so we all know it's going to be a quick one. Coulson arrives and he looks worried.

"Right, we have made progress. We now know, thanks to Daisy and Fitz, that Ward's head of security is Mya Delany. No record, not in our system and is a former History teacher specialising in the Nazi regime."

"We also know that Ward stole the painting 'Roses' from the vault." I say, looking at Coulson in the eye as I interrupt him.

"Why would he want a painting?"

"Our UC with Ward has provided the answer to that one for us. She managed to overhear the technical department telling Mya that the DNA sequence to an unknown flower was on the back of this painting." Coulson interjects.

"An unknown flower? All flower DNA has been recorded as there are only so many types of each in the world." Simmons tells us.

"I'm going to go with a rose" I say. I get looks of confusion in return so I continue: "Everything that we have discovered so far leads to Shield's Rose, so it makes sense that this _unknown flower_ is a rose. It could be one so rare that we don't have it's DNA on record."


End file.
